Lighting tube

This is a discussion on Lighting tube within the Freshwater Aquarium Equipment forums, part of the Beginner Freshwater Aquarium category; -->
I have a T8 system. How can I tell if the lamp is for plants or to bring out the colours in the fish ...

In general, a "plant" bulb tends toward the red spectrum, the "daylight" bulbs tend toward the blue wavelengths. If you want higher light intensity, the daylight bulbs work well. In my experience they provide more measurable energy for photosynthesis at the tank substrate than a similar plant bulb. Both will grow plants.